Six Syracuse boxers headed to regional Silver Gloves finals

Six youth boxers from Syracuse were crowned best in their weight class for the 2014 New York State Silver Gloves Championships over the weekend in Rochester.

The Silver Gloves tournament is the most prestigious tournament for youth under the age of 17 and culminates with national action in Independence, Mo.

Raimer Walker (60 pounds), Narcia McKinsey (70), Tramar Wallace (80), Kyon Williams (125), Sha McCauliffe (132) and two-time national champion Shannon "the Cannon" Ford (165) all won their weight brackets and will box the state winners from Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut for a chance to move on to the nationals. The boxers were accompanied by coaches Ted Baker and Chris Burns and represented Ray Rinaldi's North and West Area Athletic and Education Centers.

The community will welcome the champions back and host a day of amateur boxing in their honor at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Westside Champions Center on 307 S. Geddes St. Over 12 bouts of non-stop action will be on display, ranging from 60 pounds up to heavyweights. The event will be a fundraiser to help send the six champions onto the regional Silver Gloves finals in Elmira, N.Y.

In the main event of the evening defending New York state Golden Gloves middleweight champion Jimmy "el toro" Garcia will step into the ring with Rochester's tough Tracey McGruder at the 165-pound limit.

McGruder was the 2013 Novice Golden Gloves champion, and is looking forward to his first open-class bout.

Garcia, who is a Fowler High School grad, Syracuse city worker and decorated amateur boxer, looks to stay sharp as he gets ready to defend his Golden Gloves crown in the 2014 Golden Gloves tournament.

In the co-main event of the evening, Rochester's Jason Bayron will step in with the 2013 New York state Golden Gloves welterweight champion Luis "Azucar" Vargas of Syracuse. The three-time New York state champ Vargas is coming off a string of knockout wins, with his only loss this year coming to the No. 1 middleweight in the country, Erickson Lubin, in a close decision loss. Vargas has only eight defeats in almost 60 amateur bouts and will be advancing to the professional ranks very soon.

Teams will be traveling from Utica, Rochester, Syracuse, Liverpool, Cortland and Elmira for the event. Admission starts at $10.

This fundraiser will help sustain at-risk youth programming at the center, and help offset costs to welcome in a new education department to the West Area Athletic and Education Center. For more info contact Ray Rinaldi at 315-382-5888 or Chris Burns at 315-295-0329.